Deafula (1975)

A theology student finds himself turning into a vampire and hunting other students for their blood.

Director:

Peter Wolf (as Peter Wechsberg)

Writer:

Peter Wolf (as Peter Wechsberg)

Stars:

Peter Wolf, James Randall, Lee Darel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Wolf	...	Deafula / Steve Adams (as Peter Wechsberg)
James Randall	...	Rev. Adams (Deafula's father) (as James D. Randall)
Lee Darel	...	Detective
Dudley Hemstreet	...	Assistant detective Butterfield
Katherine Wilson	...	Mother of Deafula
Cindy Whitney	...	Young Amy
Norma Tuccinardi	...	Old Amy
Nick Tuccinardi	...	Zork (Amy's servant)
Gary R. Holstrom	...	Count Dracula
Bob L. Fowler	...	Dr. Moon
Raymond Reichle	...	Dr. Reichle
Errol Wechsberg	...	Baby Deafula
Von Wechsberg	...	Young Deafula
Toni Below	...	Tall Woman in Bedroom
Sheila Pope	...	Young Woman in Living Room

Storyline

A theology student finds himself turning into a vampire and hunting other students for their blood.

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Plot Keywords:

student | vampire | theology | 1970s | sign language | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young Deafula

Filming Locations:

Eastern Oregon, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sign Scope / Holstrom

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first horror film shot using American Sign Language.

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Quotes

Assistant detective Butterfield: Don't forget, England has the best detectives in the world.
Detective: I know.
Assistant detective Butterfield: I remember there, many deaths with puncture marks on their necks. I remember my first encounter with Dracula. Dracula. I followed and I searched everywhere. When I found him, I hammered a stake in his heart, and he died. Dracula is dead! As I said before, England has the best detectives in the world.

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Crazy Credits

Names of cast and crew who are "hearing" (as opposed to deaf) are given in the credits in italics.

User Reviews

Unheard of sign-language vampire movie.

DEAFULA is an interesting curio, the first-ever film made for a deaf audience in sign language(with audio for those unfamiliar with sign). That said, it's also one of the weirdest and most unprofessional vampire films ever made. Nonetheless, its quirky catawampus charms should be highly embraceable to most fans of schizoid cinema.

The off-kilter story concerns Deafula(a pretty creepy looking aquiline-featured fellow), who is Count Dracula's son, at large in contemporary America. Bringing deliberate confusion to the story, it also seems that Deafula is actually(I think...?) a college student's manifest alter-ego of some sort. Nevermind, though...this picture takes plenty of liberties with traditional vampire lore(we witness our bloodsucker casually roaming about in the blaze of the afternoon sun, unless that was just some exquisitely botched day-for-night filming).

For something as outrageously off-hand and ill-administered as it is, DEAFULA does bear a few small strokes of efficacy...it generally maintains a stylish classic horror affectation(the black/white filming was certainly a thoughtful touch), and it can't be said that it's not entirely ORIGINAL. To card-carrying members of the Outre Cinema Club, I'd say DEAFULA is well worth a look...there was clearly a noble intention behind it, and although the finished product is beggarly in many directions, it appeals in a rather askew way.